i-:«*- ' 


f/^ 


'■/ 


7Mn^    A^-^^J  <K.^-^.^<_    .H^^^^^^^ 


^  THE  ►$• 


Dead  of  the  pr^egbytserian  Gkifch, 


IN  KENTUCKY, 


THE!^ 


DEAD  OF  THE  PRESByTERIAN  CHURCH, 


IN  KENTUCKY. 


ADLIRE  S  S 


DElivErEd  hEfDrE  thE  Tv^n  Synads  of  KEntucky  at  thEir  Jaint 
CEiitBiiiilal,  hEld  at  Harrndsburg,  DctntiEr  12,  IBBS, 


EDWARD  P.  HUMPHREY,  D.  D. 


PRINTED   BY   THE  COURI ER- JOURNAL  JOB   PRINTING   COMPANY, 
LOUISVILLE,    KY. 


il^a  J)0Hb|yrB$li^l0i|iHn  S^nrrl^  in'^Bnlurk^. 


BY    REV.    EDWARD    P.    HUMPHREY,    O.  D. 


The  time  and  place  of  this  comnienioration  have  been  happily 
choseu.  The  time  is  the  close  of  the  first  century  of  Presbyterianisra 
in  Kentucky,  and  in  the  region  round  about.  The  place  at  which  we 
are  met  is  near  the  site  of  the  Harrodstown  station,  a  stockade  built 
about  1774  by  the  white  settlers  for  protection  against  the  Indians. 
Harrod's  station  was  a  few  miles  distant  toward  the  south  ;  beyond  it 
was  Crow's,  near  Danville.  In  an  easterly  direction,  similar  stockades 
were  built  on  the  other  side  of  Dix  river,  and  nearer  to  Harrodstown, 
another  at  Cane  Run,  and  still  another  toward  the  north,  the  famous 
McAfee  station.  Here  the  Gospel  began  to  be  preached  by  David  Rice 
in  the  year  1783;  and  the  congregations  gathered  in  this  circuit  of 
entrenchments  made  up  his  first  pastoral  charge.  And  so  a  "great 
light"  suddenly  sprang  up  in  the  thick  woods  and  cane-brakes  of 
far-off  Kentucky.  The  accomplished  historian  of  thi.»;  occasion,  the 
Rev.  J.  N.  Saunders,  has  supplied  us  with  a  vivid  word  picture  of  the 
primitive  places  of  worship  and  the  appearance  of  the  worshipers. 

The  wilderness  became  "a  dark  and  bloody  ground"  before  it  began 
to  blossom.  Two  years  earlier  than  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Rice,  young 
John  McCoun,  an  only  son,  had  been  captured  by  the  Shawnee 
Indians  near  McAfee's,  carried  to  Ohio,  and  burned  at  the  stake  with 
excruciating  tortures.  The  savages,  one  hundred  and  fifty  strong, 
returned  to  the  station,  but  were  repulsed  by  thirteen  of  our  marks- 
men, who  kept  up  a  well-directed  fire  from  the  blockhouse,  using  the 
bullets  molded  by  the  women  and  children  as  the  fight  went  on.  The 
Presbyterian  pioneers  at  McAfee's,  in  recognition  of  this  and  other  di- 
vine interpositions,  gave  to  their  church,  when  it  was  founded,  the  name 
of  New  Providence.  A  few  months  before  Mr.  Rice  preached  his  first 
sermon  in  Kentucky,  the  savages,  led  by  that  white-skinned  miscreant, 
Simon  Girty,  attacked  Bryan's  station,  near  Lexington,  and  shortly- 
afterward    slaughtered    sixty  of  our  brave  men  at  the  Blue  Licks^ 


4  Centennial  of  Presbyterianism  in  Kentucky'. 

During  the  first  ten  years  of  Mr.  Rice's  ministry,  the  white  settlers 
liahitually  strapped  the  rifle  to  the  plow-handle,  and  carried  their 
weapons  into  the  corn  fields  with  the  hoe  and  the  axe.  Dr.  BIythe 
was  heard  to  say,  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  men  to  attend  preach- 
ing well  armed,  and  even  the  minister  carried  his  rifle  and  rode  with 
holsters.  The  whole  case  is  summed  up  in  a  cominunioati<  n  of  Judge 
Innes  to  Secretary  Knox,  showing  that  within  the  seven  years  which 
followed  Father  Rices  first  sermon,  fifteen  hundred  people  were 
killed  or  taken  prisoners  i)y  the  Indians,  twenty  thousand  horses  were 
carried  ofi",  and  property  taken  to  the  value  of  875,000.  (Butler 
195.)  Bui  in  the  mid.st  nf  these  bloody  times,  Mr.  Rice  gathered  con- 
gregations at  all  the  stations  that  I  have  named.  In  1785,  he  held 
two  conference.-;  witii  tlie  brethren  at  Cane  Run.  The  second  of  these 
conferences  waa  attended  by  three  other  ministers  who  had  followed 
liini  to  Kentucky,  and  twenty-three  representatives  of  twelve  congre- 
gations. The  ministers  pre.«ent  were  David  Rice,  Adam  Rankin, 
James  Craw  find,  and  Terah  Templin,  the'last  two  being  licentiates. 
Among  tiie  representatives  were  Henry  McDonald  from  Walnut  Hill, 
David  Logan  from  Lexington,  William  Scott  from  Pisgah,  Jacob 
Fisliback  fntni  Dix  river,  and  James  McCoun  from  New  Providence. 
The  le.xtofMr.  Rice's  first  sermon  in  1783  has  been  repeated  to-day 
by  our  presiding  moderator:  '•The  people  that  sat  in  darkness  saw 
a  great  light,  and  to  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of 
deatii,  light  has  sprung  up."  His  text  two  years  afterward,  at  the 
Cane  IJun  conference  was  :  "  For  Zion's  sake  will  not  I  hold  my  peace, 
and  for  Jerusalem's  sake  I  will  not  rest  until  the  righteousness  thereof 
go  forth  as  brightness  and  the  salvation  thereof  as  the  lamp  that 
burneth."  In  1783  it  was  the  light  suddenly  springing  up;  in  1785 
it  was  the  rigiiteousness  going  forth  as  brightness  to  fill  the  land. 

One  year  later  the  Presbytery  of  Transylvania,  or  the  Presby- 
tery of  the  Forests  Beyond,  or  in  plainer  English,  the  Presbytery 
of  the  Backwoods  was  founded  at  Danvdle,  with  Mr.  Rice  as  Moder- 
ator. In  1802,  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  met  for  the  first  time  at  Lex- 
ington, with  Mr.  Rice  again  as  Moderator — always  the  first  in  honor 
among  his  equals  in  the  House  of  the  Lord. 

His  permanent  home  was  with  the  congregation  at  Danville, 
preaching  monthly  at  New  Providence.  He  established  in  his  own 
house,  in  Danville,  as  early  as  1785,  a  school  which  became  the  germ 
of  the  Transylvania  University,  and  by  a  sort  of  unconscious  prophecy, 
the  forerunner  of  Center  College.  In  the  year  1792,  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  convention  which  met  at  Danville  to  frame  a  constitution 
for  the  State.     In  this  convention  he  did  much,  but  without  success,  to 


The  Dead  of  the  Pre^xjierum  Chin-cli.  5 

secure  the  iira<lual  etnancipation  of  the  shivcs.  In  the  fiiteeiitli  year 
of  his  iiiinistry  iu  Kentucky,  and  the  sixty-fitth  year  of  his  age,  he 
found  himself  laboring  under  poverty,  under  the  ijicipient  malady 
of  the  brain,  and  the  habitual  melancholy  which  attends  those  afflic- 
tions. 

He  removed  to  Green  county  where  he  died  in  tiie  eighty-third 
year  of  his  age.  But  he  continued  his  labors,  according  to  his  day  and 
his  strength  until  his  eightieth  year,  visiting  the  churehes  which  he 
had  founded  ;  assisting  his  brethren  in  revivals  and  sacramental  meet- 
ings; making  missionary  tours  through  Kentucky  and  Ohio;  endeavor- 
ing to  quiet  the  tumults  of  the  revivals  of  A.  D.  1800,  and  the 
troubles  in  the  Cumberland  Presbytery  ;  resisting  the  vagaries  of  the 
New  Lights,  and  preaching  the  word  as  he  had  opportunity.  Mr. 
Rice's  gifts  as  a  preacher  were  not  so  remarkable  as  his  administrative 
ability,  his  sound  sense  and  judgment,  his  zeal  and  piety.  "He  Avas 
not"  using  here  the  words  of  Dr.  Cleland,  "like  the  eccentric  cumet, 
with  its  long  and  fiery  tail,  which  attracts  the  gaze  and  awakens  the 
speculation  of  beholders  for  a  few  days  and  then  disa{)pears,  but  as  the 
glorious  sun  which,  l)y  its  regular  and  constant  influences,  enriches  our 
fields,  illumines  our  horizon,  and  gladdens  our  hearts." 

In  the  year  1791  Mr.  Rice  had  the  pleasure  of  welcoming  the  first 
of  the  "eight  missionaries,"  so  called.  These  young  men  were  con- 
verted at  Hampden  Sydney  and  Liberty  Hall,  in  the  revival  of  1787-8, 
and  they  came  to  Kentucky  one  by  one,  from  1791  to  1800.  Among 
these  was  Robert  Marshall,  who  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  laborers 
in  the  revival  of  1800;  who  was  carried  away  from  the  foundations  by 
the  wave  of  enthusiasm  which  flowed  toward  the  New  Lights,  but 
soon  afterward  recovered  his  poise  and  finished  his  course  in  the 
honor  of  his  bretliren.  Carey  Allen  came  with  Marshall  from  Vir- 
ginia, and  began  and  closed  a  brief  ministry  with  his  young  life,  at 
Paint  Lick  and  Silver  creek.  His  eloquence  and  zeal,  his  prepossessing 
appearance  and  melodious  voice  gave  promise  of  distinguished  use- 
fulness; but  he  was  cut  down  in  the  very  flower  of  his  age.  The 
effectiveness  as  a  public  sp»eaker  which  was  iu  him  may  be  known 
from  a  single  incident.  On  one  occasion  he  recited  the  hymn,  'To 
Arms!  To  Arms!"  with  such  natural  emphasis,  that  many  of  his 
hearers  sprang  to  their  feet  thinking  Carey  had  seen  through  the 
window  a  party  of  Indians  lurking  in  the  woods. 

From  xillen,  we  turn  to  John  P.  Campbell,  another  of  the  eight 
missionaries,  and,  perhaps,  the  most  brilliant  of  them  all.  It  pleased 
the  Lord  to  raise  up  in  him  a  defender  of  the  faith  at  a  time  when 
controversy  was  forced  upon  our  brethren.      Somebody  must  fight,  or 


6  Centennial  of  Presbyterianism  in  Kentuchj. 

everybody  would  have  to  run  away.  Caniphell's  mind  was  exceed- 
ingly quick  and  acute;  his  learning  was  sufficient;  ami  his  courage 
rose  with  the  exigencies  of  the  contention.  He  was  like  the  young 
soldier  of  wiioin  it  was  said  that  the  shout  of  the  enemy  was  the 
music  to  which  he  inarched.  In  every  controversy,  Campbell  vvas  a 
veteran  to  be  sent  to  the  front,  and  an  adversary  whom  nobody  would 
despise  the  second  time  The  "  New  Light"  set  up  by  Barton  W. 
Stone  was  the  smoking  wick  of  a  tallow  candle  when  Catnpbell  was 
done  with  ir ;  the  Pelagianisni  of  Craighead  was  pulverized  under  his 
sledge-hammer;  and  when  one  Robinson,  who  ridiculed  the  baptism 
which  the  children  of  Israel  got  with  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the 
sea,  Campbell  left  his  man  as  dead  as  Pharaoh.  As  a  controver- 
sialist, C.impbell  refused  to  be  afraid  either  of  his  convictions  or  of 
his  adversaries.  As  a  preacher,  he  was  distinguished  foj-  weight  of 
matter,  brilliant  diction,  the  flashing  of  a  deep-set  and  dark  blue  eye, 
classic  elegance  of  style,  and  gracefulness  of  delivery.  But  he  lost 
his  voice  by  preaching  in  the  open  air.  Like  a  broken  vesper  bell, 
the  call  to  prayer  lingered  in  the  vibrations,  but  the  melody  was 
gone.  His  nervous  system  was  delicately  strung  ;  he  was  impatient, 
and  thought  to  be  at  times  irascible.  Lord  Roseburg  said  lately  that 
"success  is  not  with  the  wasps,  but  with  the  bees."  Possibly  Camp- 
bell had  not  thought  of  that.  But  so  it  vvas  that,  though  he  preached 
in  many  places,  he  never  found  a  permanent  home  ;  not  at  Danville, 
nor  Nicholasville,  nor  Cherry  Spring,  nor  Versailles,  nor  Lexing- 
ton, nor  elsewhere  in  Kentucky.  He  was  compelled  to  resort  to  the 
practice  of  medicine  for  the  maintenance  of  his  nine  children  ;  and 
he  died  at  Chilic'ithe,  Ohio,  from  exposure  while  preaching,  at  the 
age  of  fifty- three. 

John  Lyle  was  another  of  the  eight  missionaries.  Dr.  McGuffy 
describes  him  as  much  above  the  common  stature,  erect,  carrying  a 
fine  head  covered  by  a  prolusion  of  hair  entirely  white,  flowing  down 
to  the  shoulders.  Mr.  Lyle  was  a  power  in  his  day.  He  took  a  lead- 
ing part  in  the  controversies  then  flagrant;  rebuking  the  strange 
tumult  of  the  people  called  the  jerks  in  the  revival  of  1800,  and 
riding  two  months  in  the  Cumberland  Presbytery,  in  order  to  compose 
the  difficulties  there.  He  was  also  a  leading  member  of  the  commis- 
sion whose  proceedings  led  to  the  separation  of  that  Presbytel-y  from 
our  communion  and  the  formation  of  the  Cumberland  PresBvterian 
church.  Mr.  Lyle  went  far  in  advance  of  his  generation.  We  have 
Dr.  Robert  Stuart's  authority  for  saying  that  Mr.  Lyle  establi>hed  in 
Paris  the  first  school  ever  undertaken  in  the  West  for  the  exclusive 
education  of  girls.     The  circulation  of  the  Bible   by  colporteurs  was 


The  Deuel  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  7 

suggested  by  him  long  before  the  formation  of  the  Bible  Society,  and 
lie  set  up  a  printing  press  for  the  dissemination  of  religious  literature, 
many  years  before  Tract  Societies  and  Publication  Boards  were  thought 
of.  In  the  venerable  Bishop  Kavauaugh,  we  have  a  link  which  con- 
nects hiiu  with  the  living  generation.  Young  Kavauaugh,  when  a 
l)oyof  thirteen,  was  indentured  to  Mr.  Lyle  as  an  apprentice  in  the 
printing  office.  The  apprentice  lived  in  the  family  of  his  master,  and 
was  converted  and  led  to  seek  the  Methodist  ministry.  Mr.  Lyle  was 
ready  to  cancel  the  indenture  of  apprenticeship,  but  under  the  law 
then  in  force,  the  apprentice,  when  he  became  of  age,  might  sue  him 
on  the  contract.  Let  Mr.  Kavauaugh  finish  the  story  :  "Mr.  Lyle 
asked  me  whether,  if  he  would  release  me  from  all  obligation  to  him, 
I  w.)uld  sue  him.  E  assured  him  I  would  not.  He  then  smiling 
said, 'Will  you  ever  sue  me  till  you  fall  from  grace?' thus  giving  a 
pleasaut  thrust  at  my  doctrine  of  the  possibility  of  such  an  event.  I 
promised  I  would  not,  and  on  this  bargain  we  parted."  It  proved  to 
be  a  very  safe  bargain  for  Mr.  Lyle,  as  we  all  know  who  know  the 
good  Bishop. 

Dr.  Robert  Stuart  was  another  of  the  eight  missionaries,  and  he 
was  their  peer  in  his  usefulness  down  to  a  good  old  age.  Archibald 
Cameron  was  not  of  their  number,  but  his  ministry  which  began  in 
1795  and  continued  forty-one  years  entitles  him  to  a  place  among 
those  who  founded  the  church  in  our  Synod,  and  then  built  upon  the 
foundation  walls  of  strength.  He  studied  for  the  ministry  at  Danville 
with  David  Rice.  Immediately  after  his  licensure  he  began  to  preach 
in  Shelby  and  Nelson  counties,  and  labored  there  to  the  end  of  his 
days.  He  stood  by  the  truth  against  Adam  Rankin,  against  Barton 
W.  Stone,  against  the  infatuations  of  1800-1805,  against  the  way- 
wardness of  the  Cumberland  Presbytery,  against  the  Pelagianism  of 
Thomas  Craighead,  and  against  Arminianism,  and  against  the  incip- 
ient "  Reformation,"  and  against  everything  else  that  opposed  itself 
to  the  truth.  He  was  inferior  in  learning  to  John  P.  Campbell, 
inferior  in  pathos  to  Thomas  Cleland,  inferior  in  dealing  with  infidelity 
to  David  Nelson ;  but  in  love  and  zeal  for  the  truth,  in  a  knowledge 
of  Calvinism  and  the  grounds  on  which  it  rests,  both  rational  and 
scriptural,  in  controversial  aptitude  and  power,  and  in  doctrinal  and 
experimental  preaching,  he  was  the  equal  of  the  best  man  among  them. 
The  churches  now  existing  in  the  counties  of  Shelby,  Henry,  Spencer, 
and  a  part  of  Jefferson,  were  organized  by  Mr.  Cameron;  and  the 
sturdy  and  intelligent  Presbyterianism  of  that  region  took  its  shape 
and  spirit  from  his  strength  and  fidelity. 

If  he  had  been  married,  especially  if  well  married,  he  would  have 


8  Centennial  of  Preshyterianism  in  Kentucky. 

been  more  presentable  in  his  personal  appearance;  if  he  had  not  been 
tempted  beyond  what  he  was  able  to  bear,  he  would  have  restrained 
now  and  then  his  terrific  power  of  sarcasm  ;  if  he  had  been  mindful 
of  the  thirty  minutes  rule  of  our  day  he  would  not  have  used  the  ' '  gift 
of  continuance"  so  freely.  The  tradition  is  that  the  people  have  been 
known,  if  they  were  very  hungry,  to  go  home  while  he  was  ])reaching, 
dine  at  their  leisure,  and  return  to  the  church  in  time  to  hear  the  last 
hour  or  two  of  his  sermon.  This  is  probably  an  exaggeration.  But 
at  a  day  when  lawyers  like  Felix  Grundy,  and  John  Rowan,  and  John 
Pope  were  heard  patiently  four  or  five  hours  at  the  bar  and  from  the 
stump,  an  earnest  servant  of  God,  like  Mr.  Cameron,  might  be  excused 
if  he  claimed  for  the  souls  of  men  as  much  time  for  consideration  as 
they  gave  to  their  law  suits  and  politics. 

About  the  noonday  of  this  generation  appears  the  venerable  form  of 
Dr.  Thomas  Cleland,  for  a  long  time  the  pastor  of  the  congregations 
at  Harrodsburg  and  New  Providence.  We  should  give  to  his  labors  a 
large  space  in  this  memorial  service,  because  his  biography  is  the 
history  of  the  growth,  in  members  and  power,  of  Presbyterianism  in 
this  region,  because  he  was,  in  some  sense,  the  typical  Kentucky 
preacher  of  his  day,  and  because  this  assembly  is  largely  made  up  of 
the  descendants  of  his  spiritual  children.  He  participated  first  as  an 
exhorter  and  then  as  a  preacher  in  the  revival  of  1800-1805.  He 
took  up  his  pen  against  the  Arian  and  Socinian  errors  of  Barton  W. 
Stone,  and  endured  as  best  he  could  the  mortification  of  seeing  three 
of  our  ministers,  Houston,  McNemar,  and  Dunlavy,  prominent  leaders 
in  the  revival  of  1800,  going  over  to  Spiritualism  run  to  seed  and 
assisting  in  establishing  the  Shaker  community  in  Mercer  county.  Dr. 
Cleland  was  of  the  commission  to  the  Cumberland  Presbytery,  was 
active  in  the  proceedings  which  resulted  in  the  deposition  of  Craighead 
and  the  defeat  of  the  Pelagian  party;  he  entered  into  the  controversy 
with  President  Holley  and  his  partisans  in  Transylvania  University, 
and  tt)iled  at  the  foundation  of  Center  College  when  that  institution 
became  a  necessity  of  our  position.  He  defended  Protestantism 
against  Bishop  David,  the  doctrines  of  the  divine  decrees  against  the 
Arininians,  of  the  covenants  against  the  Baptists,  and  the  doctrines  of 
grace  against  the  "Reformers." 

The  larger  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Mercer  county,  witli  the 
congregations  at  New  Providence  and  Harrodsburg.  His  ministry 
was  accompanied  with  the  repeated  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
A  work  of  grace  began  in  the  New  Providence  church  in  1823,  and 
continued  without  abatement  for  seven  years,  two  hundred  and  forty 


Tlie  Dead  of  the  Presbyterian   Church.  9 

having  been  gathered  into  that  church.  Daring  his  ministry  there 
about  seven  hundred  people  professed  their  faith  in  Christ.  The  work 
of  saving  men,  took  on  its  power  in  Harrodsburg  in  1826,  continued 
three  years,  and  resulted  in  adding  to  the  church  one  hundred  and 
seventy-three  converts.  If  we  were  able,  as  we  are  not,  to  com- 
pute the  number  of  those  who  were  converted  under  his  preaching  at 
camp  meetings  and  sacramental  meetings  in  other  places,  Ave  should 
be  better  able  to  appreciate  the  greatness  of  the  work  which  the  Lord 
helped  him  to  perform.  Meanwhile  Dr.  Cleland  opened  his  house  for 
the  instruction  of  candidates  for  the  ministry.  The  catalogue  of 
fourteen  of  his  pupils  is  preserved.  Among  those  who  are  no  longer 
living  are  Drs.  James  Barnes,  N.  H.  Hall,  John  H.  Brown,  and 
David  S.  Todd.  Some  of  his  pupils  were  in  narrow  circumstances  and 
received  their  board  in  his  family  gratuitously ;  others  at  half  price, 
or  as  suited  their  convenience.  He  published,  in  1825,  a  hymn  book 
— which  for  many  years,  held  in  the  churches  the  place  lately  given 
to  the  "gospel  hymns" — and  in  it  the  Gospel  was  sung  by  our 
people,  responding  to  the  Gospel  preached  by  the  ministers  in  camp 
meetings  and  revivals. 

David  Nelson  belongs  to  the  memorable  era  of  1826-29.  His,  early 
ministry  was  given  to  East  Tennessee.  He  became  pastor  in  Danville 
in  1828,  remaining  there  two  years.  He  was  a  child  of  nature,  sim- 
ple in  his  habits  of  life,  untidy  in  his  dress,  and  generally  eccentric. 
His  fi-iend  Ross  describes  a  cottage  which  he  built  in  Tennessee,  I 
presume.  It  was  unlike  anything  ever  seen  before,  with  the  stump 
of  a  tree  left  in  the  middle  of  his  parlor  as  a  center  table.  In  preach- 
ing he  rarely  exceeded  thirty  minutes,  but  the  weight  of  his  matter, 
his  condensed  masses  of  thought,  his  laconic  phrases,  put  such  a  strain 
on  the  attention  of  his  hearers  that  his  thirty  minutes  were  better  than 
sixty  of  a  diffuse  and  rambling  preacher.  His  best- known  published 
work  is  the  "Cause  and  Cure  of  Infidelity."  It  met  squarely  and 
unanswerably  the  doctrines  of  infidelity  that  were  current  at  the  time. 
It  was  originally  prepared  for  oral  delivery.  Although  two  or  three 
hours  long,  it  was  heard  with  unwearied  attention  by  the  most  intel- 
ligent people,  many  an  unbeliever  confessing  the  power  with  which  he 
spoke.  The  book  is  not  now  in  active  circulation,  but  it  was  mighty 
in  its  day.  It  resembles  an  old  ship  of  the  line,  like  the  famous  man 
of  war,  the  Constitution,  invincible  while  afloat  but  giving  place  when 
its  victories  and  glories  were  won,  to  newer  floating  batteries.  Dr. 
R.  J.  Breckinridge,  after  an  intimacy  of  twenty  years,  .said  of  Dr. 
Nelson  :     "I  never  knew  a  more  godly  man,  a  more  noble  gentleman, 


10  Centennial  of  Preshyierianhm  in  Kentuckij. 

a  more  illustrious  example  of  a  great  pulpit  orator."  "He  spoke 
extempore  always,  but  the  pathos,  the  unction,  the  impressiveness  of 
his  preaching  were  atnazing."  (Sprague  IV.,  (i88.)  But  his  brain 
give  way  under  the  tasks  which  he  imposed  upon  it.  He  slowly  died 
at  the  top  and  fell  to  the  earth,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one. 

Dr.  Nelson's  career  belongs  to  the  first  half  of  the  century.  Be- 
fore leaving  this  period  we  should  recall  a  few  other  names  which 
adorn  our  annals.  Samuel  K.  Nelson,  the  brother  of  David,  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Asylum  /for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb.  Joshua 
L.  Wilson,  when  a  lad  of  nine  years,  heard  David  Rice  preach  his 
first  sermon.  He  and  Dr.  Cleland  were  ordained  at  the  same  time. 
After  a  laborious  and  fruitful  ministry  of  six  years  at  Bardstown 
and  Big  Spring,  he  took  charge  of  the  first  church  in  Cincinnati, 
where  he  became  a  pillar  of  Presbyterian  ism.  John  T.  Edgar,  the 
Chrysostom,  or  golden-mouthed,  was  trained  in  Maysville  and  Frank- 
fort, for  his  life-work  in  Nashville.  Gideon  Blackburn  began  his 
ministry  in  East  Tennessee,  preaching  in  his  hunting-shirt,  Bible  and 
hymn  book  in  hand,  rifle,  shot-pouch  and  knap-sack  by  his  side. 
When  the  Indians  were  driven  oflT,  he  rode  to  Middle  Tennessee  and 
administered,  so  it  is  said,  the  Lord's  supper  from  the  stump  of  a  tree 
in  the  forest  which  covered  the  site  of  Nashville.  Later  in  life  he  be- 
came pastor  at  Louisville  in  Dr.  Witherspoon's  church  ;  then  President 
of  Center  College.  He  closed  his  career  by  founding  Blackburn  Uni- 
versity. He  represents  the  three  eras  of  Western  life,  the  era  of  the 
hunting-shirt,  the  era  of  the  saddle-bags,  and  the  era  of  advanced 
culture  ;  and  in  them  all  was  true  to  the  Lord  of  all  ages  and  the 
Head  over  all  to  the  Church.  James  K.  Birch  was  called  by  his 
brethren  the  "old  ecclesiastic,'' to  describe  his  unquestioned  leader- 
ship in  our  church  courts.  Whoever  met  Mr.  Birch  in  debate,  would 
if  he  was  wise,  do  one  of  two  things;  either  he  would  be  sure  of  his 
ground,  or  he  would  leave  the  bridge  behind  him  wide  open.  He 
received  an  honor  conferred  on  no  other  man  in  the  century,  having 
been  elected  three  times  Moderator  of  the  Synod.  James  Blythe 
was  one  of  the  eight  missionaries  from  Virginia.  He  was  the  minis- 
ter of  the  church  at  Pisgah  (Dr.  Douglass')  for  more  than  forty 
years.  He  was  also  an  eminent  teacher  through  all  his  days,  and 
closed  his  life  in  the  Presidency  of  Hanover  College.  Dr.  Blythe 
was  the  Covenanter  of  his  generation ;  never  shrinking  from  contro- 
versy, fearing  nobody,  flattering  nobody. 

The  distinguished  presidents  of  Center  College  belong  to  the  middle 
and  second  half  of  the  ceuturv.     Jeremiah  Chamberlain  held  the  office 


The  Dead  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  11 

four  years  with  distinguished  usefulness.  He  became  President  of  Oak- 
land College,  Mississippi.  That  institution  reached  great  prosperity 
under  his  administration.  But  in  an  evil  hour  he  fell  dead  at  the 
hands  of  a  disorderly  and  drunken  student. 

The  year  1832  brings  into  the  field  of  vision  the  person  of  John  C. 
Young.  He  entered  the  presidency  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  and 
served  twenty-seven  years.  The  college  had  been  in  existence 
eight  years,  and  had  graduated  twenty-nine  men,  of  whom,  let 
it  be  said,  twelve  became  ministers  of  the  gospel.  Under  the 
administration  of  Dr.  Young,  funds  to  the  amount  of  more  than 
$100,000  were  collected  ;  the  number  of  students  increased  from  a 
very  few  to  more  than  two  hundred  ;  the  graduates  rose  from  two  in 
the  first  class  to  forty-seven  in  the  last  class  which  he  taught.  Power- 
ful revivals  of  religion  marked  the  whole  period.  Of  those  who  were 
educated  under  him,  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  became  ministers  of 
the  Ciospel,  not  counting  those  who  began  their  college  course  at 
Danville  and  finished  it  elsewhere.  Dr.  Young's  mind  was  singu- 
larly accute ;  rarely  in  any  discussion  was  he  driven  into  a  corner. 
He  was  a  fine  classical  scholar,  an  accomplished  metaphysician,  of 
reading  almost  boundless,  and  as  a  teacher  remarkably  apt,  and  as  a 
governor  of  young  men  full  of  resources.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a 
pupil  of  his  who  will  not  say  that  he  received  some  of  his  best  and 
noblest  impulses  from  the  teachings  and  example  of  Dr.  Young ; 
next  to  impossible  to  find  one  who  will  not  tell  you  t£at  he  was  a 
man  to  be  looked  up  to,  quoted,  and  followed.  His  successor.  Dr. 
Lewis  W.  Green,  was  the  first  gradtiate  of  the  college,  then  a  professor 
therein,  afterward  successively  pastor  in  Baltimore,  professor  in  the 
Theological  Seminary  in  Hanover,  president  of  Hampden  Sidney 
College,  president  of  Transylvania  University,  and  six  years  at  the 
head  of  Center  College — everywhere  equal  to  his  great  opportunities. 
He  was  an  accomplished  classical  scholar,  well  versed  in  the 
higher  j^hilosophy,  and  one  of  the  most  eloquent  men  of  a  generation 
in  Kentucky  abounding  in  eloquent  men.  His  successor  was  AVilliam 
L.  Breckinridge,  a  singularly  pure  and  upright  man,  vertically  uj)- 
right.  a  Christian  gentleman  of  warm  affections,  inspiring  others  with 
generous  thoughts,  true  to  his  friends,  his  principles,  and  his  church, 
loving  and  beloved.  More  than  one  in  this  company  is  ready  to  say 
"  very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  to  me,  my  brother." 

Here,  my  brethren,  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  embar- 
rassments which  beset  this  part  of  our  commemoration.  The  names 
on  the  death-roll  of  our  ministers  exceed  three  hundred.     It  is  a  sol- 


12  Centennial  of  Vrefhyterianum  in  Kentucky. 

emu  thought  that  of  all  the  ministers  who  were  members  of  our 
Synod  in  183o — fifty  years  ago — only  one  survives  to  this  day,  Rev. 
Dr.  Eli  N.  Sawtell,  the  first  pastor  of  the  Second  Church,  in  Louis- 
ville. Then,  the  materials  are  not  within  our  reach  for  the  biogra- 
phies of  many  of  our  departed  brethren,  whose  good  works  deserve 
the  most  grateful  mention.  Still  further,  there  is  danger  lest  we  be- 
stow on  a  few  leading  ministers  the  praises  which  ought  to  be  divided 
among  those  who  have  shrunk  from  public  recognition ;  who  have  sat 
silent  in  our  church  courts;  and  have  coveted  only  the  best  gifts, 
the  gifts  and  graces,  whereby  they  have  built  up  existing  congregations, 
founded  new  churches,  and  turned  many  to  righteousness.  Of  the 
twelve  apostles,  the  labors  of  three  only  are  described  in  the  Book  of 
Acts;  and  the  names  of  four  only  are  mentioned,  except  in  the  list 
contained  in  the  first  chapter.  Yet,  who  can  doubt  that,  measured 
by  their  fidelity  and  zeal,  the  nine  attained  to  the  first  three?  Would 
that  we  were  able  to  distribute  the  sacred  honors  among  our  own 
brethren  who  have  done  well  the  work. 

The  apostle  Paul  struggled  with  this  embarrassment.  In  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (chap,  xi.),  he  celebrates  the  faith  of  the 
primitive  worthies,  one  by  one.  But  the  time  fails  him  as  he  ad- 
vances, and  he  falls  away  from  the  recital  of  their  heroic  acts  of  faith, 
to  the  simple  repetition  of  the  names  of  a  few  ;  and  then,  when  com- 
pelled to  cut  short  the  roll,  he  describes  the  virtues  of  the  anonymous 
dead  in  that  grand  panegyric  which  begins  with,  "  Who  subdued 
kingdoms"  and  ends  with,  "of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy." 
To  the  Philippians  (iv:  3),  he  is  oTbliged  to  content  himself,  as  Dr.  M. 
D.  Hoge  has  observed,  by  mentioning  "  Clement  also,  and  other  of  my 
fellow  laborers,  w'/to.se  names  are  in  the  book  oj  life." 

Nothing  would  be  more  delightful  and  inspiring  than  a  free  conver- 
sation in  our  two  Synods  to-day,  devoted  to  reminiscences  of  our 
brethren,  of  whom  nothing  has  now  been  said.  Samuel  Findlay, 
James  Vance,  John  Howe,  and  Samuel  B.  Robertson  were  members 
of  the  first  Synod,  and  were  laborious  itinerant  missionaries,  riding 
far  and  wide.  John  McFarland,  Andrew  Todd,  and  John  Coons 
fought  the  battle,  side  by  side,  against  the  partisans  of  President  Holley. 
James  C.  Barnes  sarwg  the  Gospel  with  such  eflTect  that  men  said  he 
shook  the  windows;  he  could  be  heard  a  mile;  and  he  drowned  out 
the  bass-viol  and  organ  whereby  his  righteous  soul  was  vexed.  AVil- 
liam  L.  McCalla  was  fearless  to  a  proverb,  with  a  touch  of  grim 
luimor.  It  is  said  that,  when  a  portion  of  his  congregation  at 
Philadelphia  became  dissatisfied  with  him  as  their  pastor,  he  surprised 


The  Dead  of  the  Pre><hyterian  Church. 


IB 


them  with  ;i  proposition  to  divi.lo,  tlie  church  property  between  the 
parties.  On  being  asked  to  suggest  the  mode  of  division,  he  said  to 
his  opposers:  "I  offer  to  you  and  your  friends  the  outside  of  the 
meeting-house,  aud  I  and  my  friends  will  keep  the  inside."  McChord, 
Logan,  Brown,  Paxton,  Calvert,  W.  D.  Jones,  Yantis,  David 
8tuart,  Joshua  Green,  Jacob  Price,  Lapsley,  Simrall,  and  Scott  served 
their  generation  most  faithfully  and  acceptably.  Daniel  Smith,  Ash- 
bridge,  Coudit,  McPheeters,  Brarch  Price,  Bayless,  Cheek,  and  Lowrie 
were  ' '  children  of  sweetness  and  light."  Davidson  was  our  diligent  and 
conscientious  historian.  Bishop  Forsythe,  as  we  all  agreed  to  call  him, 
established,  it  is  said,  no  fewer  than  twenty  churches.  Daniel  Baker, 
David  Todd,  and  Dajiiel  Young  were  wise  in  winning  souls. 

There  were  John  Breckinridge,  who  exchanged  a  pastorate  in  Lex- 
ington for  an  honorable  and  fruitful  ministry  at  large,  through  the 
whole  church;  Stiles,  the  impassioned  pulpit  orator;  Grundy,  ever 
valiant  on  the  weaker  side,  if  only  the  right  was  with  the  weaker  side; 
McClung,  almost  a  prophet  in  his  knowledge  of  the  prophetic  scrip- 
tures;  Hill,  far-reaching  in  his  wisdom,  and  devoted  to  Christian 
education,  and  Nathan  L.  Rice,  distinguished  as  a  preacher,  not  only 
in  Kentucky,  but  in  four  great  cities:  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Chicago 
and  New  York;  eminent  also  as  a  teacher  in  Biblical  and  Didactic 
Theology ;  a  clear-headed,  ready-tongued,  imperturbable  polemic, 
grappling  with  the  falsehoods  that  "come  on  the  winds  of  doctrine," 
never  "put  to  the  worse  in  a  free  and  open  encounter"  with  Papists, 
Spiritualists,  Universalists,  or  with  the  apostles  of  the  so-called  Ref- 
ormation. 

Besides  Dr.  Rice,  three  other  of  our  brethren  have  recently  entered 
into  rest  out  of  a  good  and  fruitful  old  age.  Dr.  Hawthorne  was  full 
of  the  spirit  of  self-denial.  His  last  days  were  given  to  his  jiastoral 
charge  at  Princeton,  Kentucky,  and  to  the  feeble  and  vacant  churches 
in  that  region.  When  far  advanced  in  life,  and  in  the  dead  of  winter, 
he  made  long  journeys  on  horseback,  in  spite  of  storms,  and  roads  deep 
in  the  mire.  However  bad  the  weather  on  Saturday,  he  would  go 
against  all  remonstrances  to  meet  the  faithful  few— perhaps  twenty, 
it  may  be  only  ten— who,  he  was  sure,  would  expect  him  to  preach  to 
them  on  the  Sabbath.  Those  who  knew  Dr.  Hopkins  best  were  "affec- 
tionately desirous"  of  him,  a  strict  Presbyterian,  a  man  of  clear 
thought,  and  of  honest  and  fixed  convictions,  an  instructive  teacher  of 
righteousness,  a  loving  pastor,  a  genial  companion,  and  a  faithful 
friend.  And  long  will  we  remember  the  imposing  personality  of  Dr. 
William  C.  Matthews,  a  sturdy  scion  of  a  noble  stock.     In  the  vigor 


14  Centennial  of  Presbijterianism  in  Kentucky. 

of  life  he  was  oue  of  tl>e  foremost  among:  his  peers  in  the  ministry. 
And  his  preaching  was  never  so  persuasive  as  wheu,  in  his  last  days, 
he  stood  in  the  pulpit,  panting  for  breath,  and  quieting  as  best  he 
could  the  murmurings  of  a  tired  and  muffled  heart. 

The  time  is  short.  But  we  may  not  forget  the  story  of  Junia  in 
Roman  history.  Although  at  her  funeral  the  images  of  twenty  illus- 
trious houses  were  carried  in  the  procession,  Brutus  and  Cassius  were 
conspicuous  above  all  others,  by  reason  of  the  absence  of  their  effigies. 
That  spectacle  would  be  repeated  to-day  if  the  names  should  be  sup- 
pressed of  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  and  Stuart  Robinson.  Both  were 
endowed  with  a  broad  understanding,  genius,  sparkling  wit,  elo- 
quence, undaunted  moral  courage.  Both  were  men  of  fixed  convic- 
tions;  both  were  natural-born  controversialists;  neither  was  in  the 
habit  <jf  being  baffled.  Both  were  consecrated  men,  and  had  a  leading 
spirit  in  their  bosoms.  Each  moved  in  his  own  separate  sphere.  Dr. 
Breckinridge  was  at  home  in  the  intricacies  of  metaphysical  and 
polemic  theology ;  Dr.  Robinson  was  mighty  in  the  scriptures.  Dr. 
Breckinridge's  training  as  a  lawyer  and  politician  gave  him  prodigious 
power  as  a  debater  and  parliamentarian  ;  Dr.  Robinson's  early  con- 
version and  consecration  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  bore  him  up  to 
an  exalted  position  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  Our  generation  will 
not  forget  the  mastery  which  Dr.  Breckinridge  maintained  in  our 
church  courts;  nor  will  it  forget  the  pathos  with  which  Dr.  Robinson 
repeated  the  message  of  the  spirit  and  the  bride  to  him  that  thirsteth; 
when  he  wept  and  the  people  wept.  Each  filled  iiis  own  sphere  with 
an  illuininatiDU  which  lingers  on  the  horizon  in  a  steady  and  beautiful 
afterglow. 

From  these  personal  sketches,  we  must  now  turn  to  some  general 
observations  on  the  position  and  services  of  our  departed  brethren. 

During  the  first  part  of  the  century  they  were  not  only  pastors, 
but  itinerants.  They  did  not  hesitate  to  shut  the  doors  of  their  meet- 
ing houses  fo)  weeks  and  go  forth  to  labor  abroad.  In  Mr.  Lyle's 
diary  we  read:  "June  14,  1801.  The  Lord's  Supper  was  ad- 
ministered at  Salem  ;  Messrs  Crawford,  Rannells,  Blythe,  Howe, 
and  Stuart  attended."  In  October  following  we  read  that  "  Messrs. 
Lyle,  Crawford,  Marshall,  Logan,  and  McGraw  were  together  at  a 
Sacramental  meeting  in  Lexington."  Mr.  Lyle  rode  from  Paris  to 
the  Cumberland  river,  and  spent  two  months  in  trying  to  compose  the 
disturbances  in  the  Cumberland  Presbytery.  Dr.  Cleland  made  a 
missionary  tour  through  the  frontier  counties  of  Pulaski  and  Wayne, 
preachiug  every  day  and  ni:^ht  to  crowded  and  weeping  congrega- 


The  Dead  of  the  Presbt/terian  Chinch.  15 

tious  oonQ|)  ised  largely  of  people  who  liail  never  before  seen  a  Pres- 
byterian preacher.  In  1805,  he  followed  a  wilderness  trace  as  far  as 
Vinceunes,  Indiana,  wading  or  swimming  the  streams.  One  night  he 
staked  out  his  horse  and  fed  iiim  on  corn  that  he  had  carried  in  a 
wallet  from  Louisville,  and  slept  on  a  puncheon  fluor  of  the  only 
cal)in  he  had  seen  in  the  day's  journey.  At  Vinceunes,  he  preached 
in  General  Harrison's  camp  the  first  sermon  ever  heard  from  the  lips 
of  a  Presbyterian  minister  on  the  lower  Wabash.  In  the  year  following 
he  repeated  his  apostolical  journey.  As  Dr.  Clelaiid  was,  jo  were  all 
his  brethren.  In  the  revival  of  182(5-9,  thirty  congregations  from 
Maryville  to  Ci)himl)ia  were  vi.s  ted  frotn  on  High,  and  four  thousand 
people  professed  to  have  received  the  regeneration.  The  ministers 
went  two  and  two  from  congres/ation  to  congregation,  reserving  little 
or  much  time  for  rheir  own  fields  of  labor,  as  the  Lord  led  them 
along.  In  1828,  Gallager,  Ross,  and  Nelson,  then  living  in  East 
Tennessee,  hearing  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Sj)irii  in  Kentucky,  came 
over  on  horseback  to  assist  their  brethren.  A  meeting  which  they 
held  on  Corn  Island,  near  Louisville,  gave  to  Presbyterianism  in  that 
town  a  permanent  f  )Othold.  Later  still,  Nathan  Hall,  Nathan  L. 
Riee,  David  Todd,  and  Daniel  Biker  left  their  pul|)its  vacant  .some- 
times for  weeks  at  the  call  of  their  brethren.  - 

The  preaching  of  our  older  ministry  is  easily  characterized.  It 
was  doctrinal  to  an  extent  not  equaled  in  our  day.  The  New  Light 
schism  originating  as  early  as  1802,  turned  on  the  doctrines  of  the 
Trinity,  of  the  Covenants,  of  regeneration,  of  the  nature  of  faith 
^nd  repentance  The  Pelagian  heresy  broached  by  Thomas  Craig- 
head, a  few  years  later,  raised  the  contention  in  regard  to  original  and 
actual  sin  and  imputation.  Mr.  Alexander  Campbell  broached  his 
plausible  but  misleading  theories  still  later;  and  all  alongour  preach- 
ers were  drawn  into  controversy  with  our  Baptist  and  Methodist 
brethren.  Campbell,  Cameron,  and  Cleland  preached  on  these  topics, 
and  printed  their  sermons,  and  then  defended  their  positions  in  tracts 
and  in  the  We&tern  Luminary.  Forty  years  ago,  the  people  who  lis- 
tened to  the  opening  sermon  in  Presbytery  and  Synod,  from  such  vet- 
erans as  Dr.  Blythe  or  Father  Howe,  were  reasonably  sure  to  hear  a 
compact  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  justification,  or  inability,  or  the 
perseverance  of  the  Saints.  And  many  a  crowded  a.ssembly  listened,  I 
say,  not  with  patience,  but  with  spiritual  comfort  to  Mr.  Birch's 
famous  sermon  on  election,  two  or  three  hours  long,  wherein  he  set 
forth  "  ten  facts,"  each  of  which  was  indisputable  as  a  fact,  and  all  of 
which  were  as  closely  jointed  and  articulated  as,  let  me  say,  the  ver- 


16  Centennial  of  Prft^hyterianisvi  in  Kenhicky. 

tebrse  of  a  niast'idon.  No  people  in  tiie  Cluirt-li  were  more  thor- 
oughly indoctrinated  than  the  Presbyterians  of  Kentucky,  in  those 
days  of  great  teachers  and  intelligent  believers. 

Let  it  not  be  thought  that  our  fathers  shook  out  before  the  people 
the  dry  bones  of  a  metaphysical  theology.  Their  sermons  were 
cranitned  full  with  the  written  Word  of  God.  Many  of  them  repeated 
from  memory,  whole  chapters,  whole  Psalms,  and  hundreds  of  proof 
texts,  prophecies,  and  parables.  1  once  heard  Dr.  Stuart  make  the 
closing  address  at  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  did  not  utter  one  word  of 
his  own,  but  repeated  an  entire  chapter  from  Paul,  with  perfect 
fluency  and  with  such  appropriate  emphasis  as  to  impress  everybody 
with  the  conviction  that. Paul  was  divinely  inspired,  else  he  could  iiot 
have  written  the  chapter,  and  that  Dr.  Stuart  had  entered  into  the 
very  mind  of  the  Spirit,  else  he  could  not  have  given  to  it  such  a  per- 
fect interpretation  by  the  modulations  of  the  voice.  Dr.  Cleland 
needed  neither  written  sermon,  nor  Bible,  nor  hymn-book  in  hand. 
He  gave  out  the  hymns  from  memory,  he  quoted  abundantly  from 
both  tlie  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  giving  chapter  and  verse  for 
every  quotation  We  have  the  authority  of  Dr.  John  Montgomery, 
who  knew  him  well,  for  saying  that  he  never  trip|>ed  either  in  the 
words  of  the  Scripture  or  in  their  places  in  the  volume. 

Their  method  of  preaching,  especially  in  seasons  of  awakening,  was 
apostolic.  They  began  by  opening  the  text,  then  they  handled  the 
leading  thought,  clearly  and  familiarly,  casting  upon  it  all  the  side 
lights  which  shine  out  from  the  other  scriptures,  and  speaking  earn- 
estly but  with  restrained  emotion.  Having  planted  the  truth  in  the 
minds  of  their  hearers,  they  then  drove  it  home  upon  the  conscience. 
It  was  the  opinion  of  Nelson,  Ross,  and  Gallager,  that  it  was  difficult 
for  any  one  man  to  make  a  lucid  and  passionless  exposition  of  scrip- 
ture, and  then  rise  into  an  impassioned  strain  of  exhortation.  Upon 
this  idea,  when  two  of  them  were  together,  one  of  them  spoke  twenty 
or  thirty  minutes  explaining  and  vindicating  the  doctrine  of  the 
text,  then  the  other  took  it  up  and  reduced  it  to  its  immediate  practi- 
cal uses,  with  whatever  spiritual  {)ower  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  bestow 
upon  him.  Dr.  Cleland  sometimes  preached  an  hour  and  a  half 
An  hour  was  given  to  exposition,  and  thirty  minutes  to  expostulation. 
He  rarely  preached  without  bringing  his  hearers  to  tears.  The  ivev. 
Harvey  Woods  says:  "  I  have  learned  that  when  Dr.  Cleland  was  to 
preach  I  must  fix  myself  so  that  I  could  put  my  head  down  and  cover 
my  face  with  my  handkerchief"  One  of  the  best  established  tradi- 
tions, about  Harrodsburg  and   New  Providence,  is  that  nothing  was 


Tlie  Dead  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  17 

more  common  thau  the  spectacle  of  the  \\*hole  congregation  bowed 
down  with  emotion  at  the  close  of  his  sermon,  until  it  resembled  a 
wheat  field  over  which  the  summer  wind  was  passing.  Dr.  McGufFy, 
writing  of  Mr.  Lyle,  says:  "Often  have  I  seen  his  whole  frame 
tremulous  with  emotion,  and  the  tears  flowing  p)ofu?ely  down  his 
venerable  face,  while  in  tones  of  tenderness  he  exposlula'ed  with  in- 
fatuated sinners,  in  the  name  of  his  Master,  'Why  will  ye  die?  why 
will  ye  die  ?"'  With  this  fact  before  us  we  can  believe  Eu-.  Davidson's 
statement  to  the  effect  that  thirty  sinners  were  converted  to  God,  at 
Mt.  Pleasant  under  one  of  ^Jr.  Lyle's  sermons.  (David,  119.)  Dr. 
N.  H.  Hall  urged  inquirers  to  come  to  Christ  with  what  has  been 
called  a  "startling  and  terrific  energy."  While  he  was  holding  a 
protracted  meeting  at  Versailles  he  preached  by  request  a  sermon  be- 
fore the  Free-Masons,  of  whom  he  was  one,  in  commemoration  of  St. 
John's  Day.  He  gave  them  a  faithful  Gospel  sermon,  and  then  called 
upon  such  of  his  Masonic  brethren  as  were  not  religious  to  repent  of 
sin,  and  in  token  thereof  to  come  forward  for  prayer.  So  powerful 
was  his  exhortation  that  several  of  them  came  to  the  anxious  seat  in 
their  regalia. 

Dr  Young  was  never  so  divinely  eloquent,  if  the  phrase  be  allow- 
able, as  in  his  appeals  to  the  impenitent.  Some  of  you  have  heard 
him  speak,  first  from  the  pulpit,  then  from  the  floor  beneath  the  pulpit, 
then  in  his  fervor  advancing  along  the  aisle,  addressing  the  occupants  of 
the  pews ;  now  to  the  right,  now  to  the  left,  describing  the  terrors  of 
the  law  and  the  love  of  Christ ;  his  lithe  form  agitated,  his  face  beam- 
ing and  his  lips  glowing  with  the  sacred  fire,  until  one  after  another 
of  his  hearers  was  fairly  lifted  out  of  his  seat  and  borne  forward 
to  the  inquirer's  bench.  "  On  some  he  had  compassion,  and  others  he 
saved  with  fear,  pulling  them  out  of  the  fire."  Nathan  L.  Rice's 
manner  was  his  own.  He  put  into  the  body  of  his  sermon  a  demon- 
stration clear  as  the  light,  of,  for  example,  the  guilt  of  the  sinner,  and 
his  lost  conditinn.  It  was  often  said  that  while  other  preachers  led 
the  hearer  to  say  "what  a  fool  I  am,"  Dr.  Rice  forced  him  to  exclaim 
"  how  guilty  am  I."  The  enmity  of  the  natural  mind  against  God, 
the  conspicuous  justice  of  God  in  condemning  the  impenitent  on  ac- 
count of  his  personal  inexcusable  guilt,  were  brought  home  by  this 
great  preacher,  in  a  mighty  onset  on  his  conscience.  That  being  done, 
a  few  well-chosen  words,  every  word  charged  with  life  and  peace  in 
the  Saviour,  lighted  up  the  darkness  and  despair  of  the  man  who  stood 
convinced  and  convicted  of  sin. 

The  apostolic  spirit  of  our  early  ministers  would  be  still  further 


18  Centennial  of   Pre>ihi/ter!aiii'.<m  in  Kenfncki/. 

illustfiited  if  it  were  p  )i!sil)le,  as  it  is  not,  to  ascertain  tlie  facts  in 
regard  t  -  tlie  ineageniess  of  tiieir  salaries. 

The  support  of  the  Gospel  by  Boards  of  Missions  and  sustentation 
was  not  yet  known  in  the  church.  The  traditions  show  that  many 
of  them  cultivated  small  farms.  Father  Lyle  estal^lished  a  printing 
office.  John  P.  Campbell  became  a  physician.  Touching  the  pecu- 
niary compensation  which  they  received  from  the  people  we  have 
but  little  distinct  information.  Dr.  Cleland  preached  several  years  in 
Springfield  and  Lebanon.  The  people  gave  him,  as  he  says,  "  but  a 
trifling  pittance  for  his  support."  At  the  age  of  thirty-five  he  accepted 
a  call  to  Xew  Providence  and  Cane  Run,  near  Harrodsburg,  on  a  salary 
of  $250,  of  which  nearly  one-fifth,  or  $50  out  of  $250,  was  never  paid. 
He  bought  a  farm  of  168  acres  near  New  Providence  church,  of  which 
only  a  few  acres  were  cleared.  The  logs  were  collected  to  build 
his  house.  With  his  own  hands  he  quarried  rock  for  the  founda- 
tion and  the  chimneys,  cleared  the  ground  and  built  the  fences.  In 
that  humble  dwelling  he  lived  t  >  the  end  of  his  days.  When  the 
church  was  built  he  invested  $150  in  the  enterprise  out  of  his  scanty 
means,  being  an  example  to  the  floik  of  generosity. 

We  catch  an  occasional  glimpse  of  the  penury  endured  by  these 
self  denying  men.  David  Rice  purchased  a  parcel  of  ground  near 
Danville,  on  the  faith  of  friends  who  guaranteed  the  payment,  which, 
however,  was  so  long  deferred,  or  entirely  forgotten,  that  the  good 
man,  laboiing  under  the  insidious  approach  of  old  age  and  disease, 
would  have  been  brought  to  extreme  want  but  for  the  generosity  of 
one  of  the  neighbors.  John  P.  Cam|»bell  was  reduced  to  similar  ex- 
tremities, although  living  in  a  wealthy  community.  Father  Stuart 
was  told  by  one  of  Campbell's  congregation  that  "  they  were  keeping 
him  on  Lent."  Unhappily,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  this  Lenten  season 
was  not  limited  to  forty  days.  We  are  warranted  in  saying  that  our 
brethren  of  that  day  were  self-denying,  or  denied  by  the  people,  to  a 
degree  that  is  unknown  in  our  more  pleasant  places  and  more  consid- 
erate congregations.  But  let  us  turn  to  a  more  agreeable  train  of 
thought. 

That  may  well  be  found  in  the  noble  company  of  Ruling  Elders, 
by  whose  intelligence,  weight  of  character,  piety,  and  activity  the 
annals  of  the  Synod  were  adorned.  Jacob  Fishback,  Samuel  Mc- 
Dowell, and  James  McCoun  labored  with  Father  Rice  upon  the  foun- 
dations of  our  church  in  the  region  where  it  was  first  planted. 
Charles  S.  Todd,  Mark  Hardin,  Samuel  Harbison,  and  Quinn  Mor- 
ton were  fellow-laborers  with  Mr.  Cameron  in  Shelby  county.  John 
Cabell  Breckinridge  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Second  Church,  in 


The  Dead  of  the  Prexbyterian  Church.  19 

Lexinijftnn.  Jiidu:e  Green,  with  Hupkins,  Barbour,  Yoiice,  and  Craig 
served  their  brethren  in  Danville  ;  Kice,  Wesr,  and  Price  in  Nicholas- 
ville;  the  Berrynians  at  Pisgah  and  Versailles;  McAfee  and  Dnnn, 
New  Providence;  Judge  Mills,  with  Todd  and  Clarke,  in  Frankfort; 
the  two  Skillinans  and  Scott,  in  Lexington;  Stonestreet,  in  Salem; 
Judge  Simpson,  in  AVinchester ;  Wyckliffe  and  Nourse,  in  Bardstown  ; 
Bullock,  at  Walnut  Hill;  January,  at  Maysville ;  Preston,  at  Bur- 
lington ;  Averill,  Cassaday,  Garvin,  Richardson,  and  Prather  in  Lou- 
isville;  Murray,  in  Cloverport;  Judge  Graham  and  Quigley,  at  Bow- 
ling Green;  Judge  Sampson,  at  Glasgow;  Brank,  father  and  son,  at 
Paint  Lick;  Walker  and  Mann,  in  Harrodsburg ;  Montgomery,  in 
Springfield;  Piiilipps,  in  Lebanon;  Bell,  at  Owensboro;  Williams, 
serving  sixty  years  at  Houstouville,  are  a  few  of  the  many  who  used 
the  office  of  the  Ruling  Elder  well  and  purchased  to  themselves  a 
good  degree.  The  house  of  the  Lord  in  the  Synod  has  always  been 
surmounted  by  twin  towers — the  ministry  and  the  Ruling  Eldership, 
both  rising  strong  and  comely  from  the  same  foundation  ;  both  guard- 
ing the  walls  from  generation  to  generation.  Which  of  the  two  has 
lent  us  the  surest  protection,  let  another  tongue  than  mine  declare. 

I  must  now  retire  from  my  unexhausted  theme.  I  have  not  done 
justice  t  V  the  memory  of  our  illustrious  dead,  nor  could  such  justice  be 
done  by  any  man  within  the  limits  of  the  occasion,  and  with  the 
scanty  materials  in  our  possession.  But  their  praise  is  expressed  in 
the  silent  thought  of  this  crowded  assembly;  in  these  solemn  ceremonies; 
these  prayers  and  hymns;  in  the  memories  which  stir  in  our  bosoms; 
in  the  tears  that  besiege  our  eye-lids;  and  the  vibrations  of  the  mystic 
chords  of  sympathy  which  go  out  from  heirt  to  heart.  Better  is 
their  praise  set  forth  in  the  type  of  Presbyterianism,  which  they 
established  amidst  perils  in  the  wilderness,  and  perils  by  the  heathen, 
and  in  perik  among  false  brethren.  But  their  best  and  highest  praise 
is  in  the  great  company  of  the  redeemed,  who  have  entered  into  life 
in  the  communion  of  these  congregations.  The  old  graveyards  which 
have  opened  their  bosoms  to  receive  the  dust  of  pastors  and  people, 
are  so  many  Macpelahs  in  our  goodly  land. 

The  saying  has  passed  into  a  proverb,  that  "  no  man  can  get  away 
from  his  ancestors."  From  this  it  follows  that  no  man  can  separate 
himself  from  his  posterity.  And  now  let  us  listen  reverently  to  our 
fathers,  who  speak  to  us  out  of  the  past,  and  then  let  us  advalnce  to 
meet  our  children,  whose  voices  greet  us  as  they  approach. 

"The  glory  of  the  children  are  their  fathers."  Our  glory  is 
that  our  fathers  of  the  first  generation  lighted  up  the  dark  woods  of 
Kentucky  with  the  lamp  of  life,  and  the  fathers  of  the  second  and 


20  Centennial  of  Preshyterianimi  in  Kentucky. 

third  generations' have  handed  down  to  us  the  light  brightly  burning. 
They  caH  upon  us  to  pass  it  on,  all  ablaze,  to  our  children,  until  the 
whole  land  is  filled  with  light  and  warmth.  They  admonish  us  not 
to  allow  any  thirst  for  immediate  success  or  popularity  to  loosen  our 
hold  upon  the  doctrines,  government,  and  worship  of  the  church,  as 
we  have  received  the  same  from  the  Word  of  God.  In  the  torch - 
races  of  antiquiry,  only  those  charioteers  won  the  crown  who  turned 
the  goal  and  did  not  lose  the  flame.  Happy  are  they  who  shall  both 
finish  the  course  and  keep  the  faith  ! 

Dear  brethren,  so  long  as  our  Synods  are  two,  let  us  take  into 
account  the  things  wherein  we  are  agreed,  as  well  as  those  wherein 
we  differ,  and  then  let  us  follow  the  best  things.  We  have  succeeded 
to  a  heritage  which  our  fathers  earned  at  the  expense  of  extraordi- 
nary sacrifices,  and  preserved  in  the  face  of  extraordinary  trials  and 
reverses.  Let  us,  therefore,  be  true  to  our  principles  and  our  duties, 
lest  our  virtues  prove  too  frail  to  bear  the  weight  of  the  inheritance, 
and  we  be  put  to  shame.  And  here  on  this  historic  and  consecrated 
spot,  here  at  the  Sichem  where  our  first  altar  was  builded,  here  where 
we  reap  the  fruits  of  toils  in  which  we  find  so  much  to  honor  and  so 
little  to  regret,  here  where  the  Son  of  Righteousness  has  held  its 
shining  way  across  the  firmament  for  a  hundred  years,  bere  where  the 
atmosphere  is  charcjed  with  the  memory  and  benedictions  of  the  pious 
dead,  here  and  now  let  us  reverently  commit  the  future  of  our  dear, 
dear  old  Synod  to  Him  who  has  bought  us  with  His  blood. 


318S- 


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irs'^'^KT'^ 


